Pegontheroad--I am pretty sure my mileage plus visa still charges the 3%. Did you ask to get it removed, or do you have a special card?

I use a Caxton prepayment euro card that I fill charge up with euros before leaving home. Have used it for years and never charged for ATM withdrawals. This time I was charged 3 euros on a 300 euro withdrawal made from BBVA machine at the branch that pays my apartment costs.

The bank say it is Caxton who are charging, and Caxton say it is the bank. Any suggestions of how to proceed? Is this a new departure for Spain generally or just BBVA?

How to proceed? It's only 3 euro. Think of the total cost of your trip, and any other unexpected costs you will have incurred. It's not a scam, it's a charge for a service. If you don't like it, find another way next time, or just stay at home. Why are posters here always complaining about minor irritations and costs?

Bookmarking.

@nukesafe, you are incorrect....La Caixa, Santander, and BBVA (for starters, and I'm sure there are more) ALL charge a fee of €3 for an ATM withdrawal if the card is not issued by their bank. At today's exchange rate that is about $4.25 fee.

The situation is a bit murky and isbecoming mukier. The two largest shredteller networks are cirrus andplus which areoned respectively by mastercard and visa. For years an I think this is stll curret trasaction thatgo through cirrus or plus are n ot allowed to have a fee plastered on by te local bank. However, somehow some bank have found a way t rote cash withdrawaltransaction through other teller networks oerwhich you have nocontrol. For exampl, some Texas bank charge Canadians to withdraw becase the transaction does notgo thrugh cirrus or plusbt rathr staror NYCE whch do no havethe same customr friendly requirement.

Now some banks reimburs for such crges up to a certain amount each month. Forexample, any transact5ions ofwthdrawng cash on my Fidelity account are reimbursed. Recently, I needed some cash (a rare vent for me, see below) and withdrew 20 from a US ATM...the bank carged me $3 butFidelty immediately credited m the $3 on my account I assume the sam would occur if I ran into one fthose asinine fees inEurope.

However, and we've dscssed this here before, to me cash is a royal pain in th pituna. Iabsolutely do not paycashfor most anything when I'm on holiday either in the USA or Europe or Canada or anywhere. I use my credit cardfor al purcases large or small anywere tey're taken. Ever sice te localChinese take out placebegan taking credt ards through square.com I ca go weeks without a sngle cash transaction. When I'm on holiday in Europ, it' a bt trickier to do this in some countris but I use tesae philosophy. The UK is very much like the USA. Credit cards are takenjust about everywhere except perhaps for on street stands and very often in pubs for a pint or two (food is another matter). France is somewhat similar. I hate Spain an rarely g there except to stay in anairport hote in Barcelona if I take a cruise out of Barcelona but that's me. Holland and Germay, for example, aremuch more unlikely to take credit cards everywhere the way they do in the USA or UK. But my advice is still th sam. Try to use credit cards wherever the are taken for purchases large or small and limit your ATM withdrawals. Also, ATM withdrawals are subject to many skimming problems so I wouldnever usemy main checkin acount for withdrawals (although Fidelity is my main account an I use the debit card to avoid ATM fees as noted above and take that chance). Many internt banks have debit cards that do not charge fees and reimburse those fees so for travel prpoes, I woul open such an account, keep $1.01 in theaccont. Before a tri, you can transfer in as much as you think you might need f ATM wihdrawals, hopfully very little if you travel the way I do and whn youreturn, tranfer the excess above $1.01 back to your main account.

Hey xyz123, are you typing on a tablet or a smartphone?

I know...my vision is just not that good to catch the errors and for some reason I type a key like the a I just typed in reason and it misses. Have no clue why. I catch some of them as they occur but miss a lot more. Perhaps I need a new keyboard. Forgive me but you can get the idea of what I'm saying. It's what happens when you get old.